Mobile’s Austal USA awarded Navy ship support contract worth up to $198 million
Austal USA launches the future USS Omaha from its facility in Mobile. (Austal USA)
The U.S. Navy awarded Austal USA in Mobile nearly $52 million Tuesday toward design services for upgrades to the littoral combat ship (LCS) program and preliminary design for its future frigate program.
The support contract complements the Australian shipbuilder’s 10-ship, $3.5 billion LCS contract with the Navy and is expected to increase to more than $198 million over three years if options are exercised.
“We’re excited about this contract as it reflects the Navy’s confidence in our ability to support these warships and the program as a whole,” Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle said. “This work lays a solid foundation for our growing support business and will continue to grow as these ships deliver and enter the fleet.”
Work is slated to begin in Mobile immediately with initial funding totaling $51.7 million. An additional $14 million is expected in March 2016, with the balance expected in two following annual payments.
Austal’s LCS and frigate design services consist of:
- Special studies supporting engineering design and trade-offs;
- Core class studies that support program management to include configuration control and maintenance of ships under construction; and
- Class services such as ongoing technical support for design modifications and maintenance of the LCS configuration and baseline design for delivered ships with future flight upgrades.
Those latter upgrades include preliminary design efforts for the LCS transition to the frigate.
Austal Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy called the latest contract a “key indicator of our maturing support business in the (United States).”
“This contract directly reflects our customer’s confidence in Austal’s ability to build and support highly advanced ships and to meet today’s changing requirements,” Bellamy said in a prepared statement.
Austal USA in Mobile is fulfilling its $3.5 billion contract with the Navy alongside General Dynamics Mission Systems for 10 aluminum-hulled, Independence-class ships. Lockheed Martin and Marinette Marine, meanwhile, partnered to construct and outfit an equal number of steel-hulled Freedom-class variants in Wisconsin.
Tuesday’s contract announcement comes less than one week after U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter directed Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to not only reduce LCS procurement from the planned 52 ships to 40 but also to discontinue one of two variants by fiscal 2019.
The news also comes just three days after Austal christened the future USS Omaha, the fourth in its 10-ship contract and its sixth LCS overall, and less than two months after Navy awarded the Mobile shipyard a $53.4 million preliminary materials contract that sets the stage for construction of its 11th high-speed vessel.
Austal USA is a full-service shipyard offering design, construction and high-speed vessel service and repair. As the Australian shipbuilder continues to expand its service and repair capabilities, the company is well-positioned for new business with advanced engineering, test and trials capabilities. Austal has a West Coast office in San Diego and Mobile’s state-of-the-art waterfront facility.
In addition to the recently christened future USS Omaha, Austal-built Independence ships USS Independence, USS Coronado and USS Jackson have entered service; the USS Montgomery and USS Gabrielle Giffords are being prepared for acceptance trials; the USS Tulsa and USS Manchester are being assembled in bays 4 and 5; and modules for the USS Charleston are under construction.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson has already lobbied to get the Port City’s name on a future Austal-built ship.
